2 new toads!!

[calmeat]

Thanks for the responses. So Tito is looking good today I was a bit worried. Thanks for the links i looked over the sheet cause my main concern now is food. Since my toads are about 2 inches are they considered adult toads?
"A feeding schedule of three to six food items every two or three days generally works well for most adult toads". So with that statement about 3-4 crickets every 2 days should be good and some worms as a special treat kind of thing? The other thing is i have a tree in my front yard and some stones around the tree if i lift up a stone there are tons of pill bugs that range from big ones to very small baby ones. Can i feed them to the toads with no concern or should i stay away from them.

Also Gail, when you order the roaches or crickets how do you keep them between feedings?

[kueluck]

I'll post info on this when I get home from work today. I don't have the pics I would like to send on this with me. Also, I put food out for the toads every night, some times they eat some times they don't, I leave the choice up to them. And pill bugs are good, just make sure there are no chemicals in the area that you collect them in. That goes for all wild caught bugs & worms.

[yoshimi]

Definitely sounds like a shed. Sometimes Uki (american toad) will have a bubble on her head when in shed. I have a pic but it's blurry. Anyway, it's normal.

I would focus more on soft-bodied or more nutritious feeders than crickets as their staple. As in, crickets as a treat, since you have to gut load them with veggies and whatnot first anyway. Watch for mold, i dunno why but my cricket bin had issues. The oats would get moldy. Not enough ventilation, I suppose. I bred dubia roaches for a while and it was fun and easy once it got going. My toads loved them and they're good for dusting with supplements. A trusted source on here for feeder info said that most roaches are about the same as far as nutrition. If you go the roach route, the type is up to your preference in how you want to keep them. Definitely do your research to pick what's best for you and the toads. Healthy feeder insects = healthy frogs. My Banjo grew so fast after the introduction of dubia. All the protein i guess.

I buy my worms from wal-mart's fishing section and get adamant when the selection is bad. Very particular. But you can keep them in the fridge (butter compartment is good) which is handy. $3.25 for 30. Rinse them off in treated water, pat dry with paper towel, and you can either dust with calcium/d3 or feed naked, depending on their supplement schedule. (i mean the worms, not you) Putting them on a plate and placing toads where they can see them if they're off somewhere else will usually get their attention. They'll try to flick it with their tongue and fail maybe, but eventually they'll get it. hopefully.

If either are male, they won't grow much more, but a lady toad could grow another inch and a half. I would consider them adults, but still offer food almost every night. If they would be eating outside, they should be eating inside.

So basically, what Gail said, haha.

[kueluck]

I use a plastic tote, the darker the better for the roaches. The stuff on the bottom is the oder control from Feedersource, it works great cause bugs can and do get stinky if you don't keep the bin clean. I feed all my feeder bugs Repashy Bug Burger, even tuck a little under a rock or piece of bark for the pill bugs, dry cricket chow, fish flake food, fresh greens and oranges. What goes in the bug, goes in the toad and I wanna keep them as healthy as possible. I also LOVE the water crystals, make it so much easier than using the wet cotton balls, or those water pillows. I use the PT and TP rolls because you can pick one end up with a tweezer and shake it out into a cup (like the plastic containers fruit flies come in), for .me this is easier than egg crate stuff. Hope this helps you out, I'll be back in the am, time to feed some critters & one husband.

Also Gail, when you order the roaches or crickets how do you keep them between feedings?

[Psychotic]

Everyone has given good advice. But I really wouldn't worry about feeding crickets. Before I got my roaches going I fed crickets. All of my frogs eat crickets. Now that I breed roaches I also feed the roaches. However not all of my frogs and toads will eat the roaches. The same with earthworms. My toads won't touch worms but my frogs love them. However my toads will eat silkworms, and hornworms. But I rarely get them because they are expensive.

I generally feed out of a bowl because a lot of feeders like to burrow.

I use eco earth for the substrate and I do not keep it moist because mine always molds when I do. I provide a very large water bowl for them. They love to soak in it. They will make a mess of it though by tracking the substrate into the water. I keep them at room temperature and don't provide any special lighting or humidity.
I don't use moss.

Also Tito was most likely shedding and that is nothing to worry about. First time I witnessed one of my frogs shedding I was freaked out. Puffed up like a balloon, started opening and closing it's mouth and rubbing its sides with its back legs. The secretions helps the old skin come off. Also they eat the skin.

[yoshimi]

I was thinking about it and it doesn't sound like you had 1st toad long enough for his passing to be your fault. Tap water won't kill them that quickly, and unless you grabbed pillbug from an area with an abundance of chemicals, that wouldn't be it either. He may have been sick.

Anyway, best of luck and fun with new toads. Your daughter will hopefully carry this with her, and we'll see her on here when she grows up into a happy herper.

[calmeat]

Hey just wanted to thank everyone for their comments. Toads are all good and yeah i guess tito was just shedding. I have been feeding them crickets and now have the dust so i will start using that. Also got some food for the crickets and keeping them in a cricket keeper. I bought some nightcrawlers so im gonna give that a shot but the thought of cutting up the worms is kinda making me sick. Those look huge i believe they are canadian nightcrawlers so not sure if there is a difference but those things are big and will have to cut them up for the little guys. Thanks again for all your help!

[FriedrichsFrogs]

Tito's "slime" does sound like hes shedding, i agree with Gail. They'll shed starting from their hind legs and end at their mouth, usually theyll eat it (yum) that would also explain Tito's "scratching" because theyll use their legs to help remove the dead skin off of themselves